1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to customer/vendor marketplaces in a computer network environment. More specifically, the invention relates to an online marketplace for customers and vendors to transact business for services and goods, including those related to moving, and allows for pre-payment for the services and goods.
2. Discussion of Related Art
For many years, the Internet has allowed consumers of a wide variety of goods to get online and meet merchants and retailers. There are many models in which transactions between buyers and sellers of products or goods can take place. Companies in this space include some well known names such as Amazon, eBay, Priceline, Mercata, among hundreds of others. The models for such transactions include fixed prices, peer-to-peer bidding, volume purchasing, and bid and lock models. These models, as well as others, have been used for many years in the online world and have been widely successful.
However, similar models for selling services on the Internet or in online marketplaces are still evolving and have not yet had widespread acceptance. Presently, there are numerous online companies that provide marketplaces for customers and service providers, referred to as vendors, to transact business. An example of one such company is eLance which provides a shared workplace for its members who pay subscription and transaction fees. Members, e.g., a customer can bid for a service or can pay a fixed price for a service offered by a vendor. The customer and vendor then collaborate in a shared workspace. At Guru.com, customers can hire freelance vendors in a non-fee marketplace. Others include Sologig.com where freelancers can be hired for a fee and Servicemagic.com where service providers, such as plumbers, landscapers, and the like, pay a fee to bid on jobs posted by customers.
Many of the online marketplaces for services have not focused on a specific area of business. Most, if not all, service-oriented online marketplaces have taken a general character, supplying a wide variety of services in different fields without focusing on a particular business. One example of a business space that is primarily service oriented is the self-help or “do-it-yourself” moving business. In this business a customer rents a truck, trailer, or van to move their personal possessions to a new location instead of hiring a full service moving company to pack, load, unload, and transport the possessions. The Ryder Corporation, a transportation management and vehicle rental company, has a web site at Ryder.com or yellowtruck.com which allows customers to obtain information on vehicle rentals and other transportation needs. The customer can rent a vehicle and request that a service provider contact the customer in the future to enter a transaction.
The do-it-yourself moving business typically has as its primary or originating transaction between customer and vendor the renting of a van, truck, or trailer. A customer begins a move by renting a vehicle or trailer at one location and returns the vehicle at a different or same location. Often when moving, the customer may seek help for a wide variety of services. The most apparent being loading and unloading the vehicle or trailer. Customers may also seek help with packing and unpacking and with other common chores that need to be done when moving, such as housecleaning, painting, yard cleaning, garbage/waste removal, carpet cleaning, and so on. The list also includes less obvious items such as reserving a hotel room at the destination for the night before moving in and similar services at the destination, such as unloading, removal of empty boxes, cleaning, assembling furniture, and so on.
Presently, customers seek moving-related services by searching the yellow pages and classifieds or asking for referrals at the moving equipment rental office, where employees are not generally permitted to provide such information. The task of finding all the services a do-it-yourself moving customer may need becomes time consuming, inefficient, and disjointed. In addition, customers are typically left to choosing a vendor randomly from yellow page listings or classified ads. Customers seeking services or a vendor in a city or location different from where they live face the problem of getting information on the remote location. Obtaining such information from online yellow pages can be problematic or difficult for certain customers. In some cases customers go to Internet web sites for moving services, such as moving.com or move.com. These sites allow customers to access information and contact information of vendors regarding moving services and goods. The sites are enhanced online yellow page listings for moving services and goods. The customer can access information on moving, such as moving tips, money saving ideas, and the like. In some cases a customer is linked to one vendor for a particular service or good as opposed to a listing of vendors along with information on rates and customer feedback. A customer visiting these sites is typically not able to transact business or make a purchase on the sites. Customers are not able to hire a vendor and pre-pay for the vendor services at the site. They are generally informational. Many of the vendors, such as those who offer the service of loading and unloading or provide housecleaning services, have minimum time or payment requirements. That is, the minimum that the customer must pay is dictated by the vendor, regardless of the level of need of the customer. For example, a student moving from shared housing to a studio will likely have to pay a vendor a minimum payment that exceeds the services actually needed by the student. The experience of moving is often not a pleasant one and calls for many disparate tasks apart from the basic job of transporting one's possession. Some of these varied tasks, if not brought “under one roof” may be overlooked and require a quick fix at the last moment. Online sites for making reservations for a truck, van or trailer for the do-it-yourself moving customer have gained widespread acceptance. Customers routinely log on to the site and make more informed decisions on what type of moving equipment, truck size, and so on they may need. However, making arrangements for the varied services related to a move are not available at the same site despite the fact that such services, as noted above, are integral to moving and relocating.